Western, Anti-Western, or Something In-Between? Analyzing the Adherence to the Western Fiction Genre in John Williams' Butcher's Crossing

Abstract

This study analyzes whether Butcher's Crossing by John Williams fits within the Western fiction genre or in some respects could better be called an anti-Western. As the novel is set in the American West and deals with aspects of Western life, an adherence to the Western fiction genre seems likely, but arguments for it being an anti-Western are numerous. By analyzing several of the novel's focal points—the protagonist's development in connection to his environment, the adherence to reality, and the opposition between man and nature—this study shows the measure to which the novel adheres to the Western fiction genre. When it comes to the protagonist's development in connection to his environment, the novel subverts the notion that the Western hero must always conform to civilization as constructed by western understandings. Additionally, the novel's adherence to reality is not in line with the Western fiction genre's tendency to romanticize its stories. Lastly, the depiction of the opposition between man and nature in the novel shows that man's overtaking of nature is destructive, which fits with the Western fiction genre, but the depiction of the inhumanity of nature challenges the paradise myth of the Old West, which is a subversion of the genre. In light of these focal points, this study reaches the conclusion that Butcher's Crossing is an anti-Western.